Losing Faith
by Sam-453
Summary: PG-13 just in case- a bit of swearing and domestic violence nasty stuff in chap2! HP cross. At the end of Prisoner of azkaban, the Gryffindor quartet is split...
1. Default Chapter

Ok people, I need your help!

This is the prelude to my new story (btvs/HP) BUT I can't think of a name, _and_ I'm still concentrating on All In the blood, so I might not post the rest of this yet… it actually depends on you guys. If you want this one too, you'll have to be nice and patient about updates, cos its not my focus right now. 

So for the mo, I would like feeback on that, general feedback on what you think of the basic idea, and NAME HELP please!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Harry Potter. Really wish I did, but I don't, so I'm getting nada for this- don't sue me.

Summary: At the end of Prisoner of Azkaban, the Gryffindor _quartet_ is split... 

Prelude 

            "I just can't believe he could even _dare_ to say all that stuff- Poncey git."

            "I _know_! I mean, seriously, what did he do? Ooh, got knocked out, bra-bloody-vo."

The teens laughed loudly, and a tiny owl whizzed about the carriage again.

            "Bloody hell! Sirius tricked us, Harry, this thing's manic!" Ron cried.        

            "Plus side- it's not an animagus deatheater working for the big V."

            "Always a good thing." Harry agreed. Ron nodded acceptance, and ducked as the mad owl flew at him. Suddenly he brightened,

            "Quidditch world cup this summer!" He declared happily.

            "Yeah!" Harry grinned, but his face soon fell again, "But somehow I _don't_ think that's gonna be on BBC1 at the Dursley's."

            "Na." Grinned one of the girls. "You get the gardener's specials."

            "Lucky me." He said dryly.    

            "I bet Dudley would have liked Quidditch if he saw it." Hermione said.

            "Yeah, or at least the bit where you use club to whack balls at people." Harry added.

            "He could have been a beater if he was a wizard." Hermione said.

            "Beater? Bludger more like!" Ron cried. They all fell about laughing again, the four friends enjoying their last few hours together before the holidays.

            "You guys _have_ to come stay sometime." Ron told them all.

            "How's tomorrow sound?" Harry asked in mock hope.

            "Don't sweat it Haz- you'll survive." 

            "After blowing up Aunt Marge? Yeah right." Harry said, knocking away her hand as she ruffled his already messy hair.

            "They wont go near you." Hermione said.

            "True, true, I'll have that at least."

            "Yeah!" Ron said, "Think yourself lucky- I'm gonna have bloody Percy! Apparently he's totally obsessed with his new boss…"

            "Obsessed how?"

            "You have _such_ a dirty mind!" Hermione scolded.

            "I was being very serious!"           

            "Yeah, and Ron is inviting Malfoy to stay." Harry joked. Through more laughter, not one of them could think of a place they would rather be at that moment. They each felt happier, safer, more loved within this group than pretty much anywhere else on the planet. In mere hours they would part, and for one, at least, this dream was about to be ripped out from beneath her feet. She sat in this carriage now, her past no more than that, and her future set out with those around her right now, and at Hogwarts, but all of that was about to change.

            "So you reckon you'll be able to get an owl this summer then?" Hermione asked her.

            "Depends." She replied, "I gotta convince Jo that I'll clear all the shit up…"

            "Faith!" Hermione exclaimed.

            "Grow up, Mi." Faith teased, "You have to stop gasping every time I say shit, or you'll never get over the fuck-faints."

            "Shut up." Hermione said sulkily.

            "You mean shut the f…" Faith began, grinning. But Hermione elbowed her in the ribs, and more laughter ensued.

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Please please please review- I _really_ need your feedback on this!!

-Sam


	2. GoodBye

Losing Faith Thanks for all your reviews and suggestions- I've finally come up with a name, and I apologise for the incredible lack of originality, but I couldn't think of anything better, and Becks89 said it was ok, so blame her! ;) kidding, thanks for your help, Becks. 

Oh! And now that you know it's Faith, I can say that I got this idea cos I realised I hadn't seen many properly Faith based Harry Potter crosses, so being me, I had to do one!!

Okey Dokey, so now we get into the actual story- the next few chapters cover a huge amount of time in a short space- roughly two and a half years in a couple of chapters- and this is me! (lets see, all in the blood, 40 chapters, second week of term… child of the key, 50+ chapters, one term….) So yey me! It's got to go this fast because details of what happens inbetween are either in the books, or relatively unimportant.

Just to say that I am still going to be focussing on 'It's all in the blood', _plus_ I have AS exams very soon, so I apologise it advance for if this isn't updated very frequently, please don't get angry!!

**_Little warning_**- A few bits of this chapter are not very nice. Some of it may be a little disturbing to some people. The rest of the story wont be like this, but I felt it was necessary to get the point across.

And again there is swearing, but what's new with that in my stories? Still, just so you know- don't wanna offend anyone.

Anyway, I hope you like it

Chapter 1-Goodbye 

All too soon they had reached Kings cross and the four split after hugs, goodbyes, and promises of owls (and in Harry's case, rescues). Harry trudged off towards the Dursleys, and Faith blew Dudley a kiss, winking suggestively and gaining the desired effect of him squealing and attempting to hide behind his mother. Faith grinned widely, hugged Hermione once more, and headed off to her foster mother of three years. She tried so hard not to notice the look of sorrow in her foster mothers eyes as she forced a smile and asked,

"How was your journey, sweety?"

"Good. Yeah, it was great." Faith replied. Her foster mother took the trunk-laden trolley and they chatted brightly as they walked out to the taxi- the only form of muggle transport Adelaide Kirby could stand.

By the time they reached the modest suburban house in which they lived, Faith couldn't take it any longer.

"What is it?" She asked suddenly.

"What's what, darling?"

"Don't, Del. Just tell me- what's up?"

Adelaide looked into the teenagers eyes- eyes far too mature for their age- and sighed. She flopped onto an armchair, and Faith perched on the arm of the sofa as she so often did.

            "What?" Faith repeated quietly.

            "Oh darling." Del gasped. "I got a letter this morning… from the agency… apparently… they… they heard from your father."

Faith frowned,

            "My Dad? Why?"    

            "Because… Faith… he… he wants… he says he wants you to go home." She managed to say it, but could not look at Faith as she did so. If she had, she would have seen that the teen was shell-shocked.

            "He wants me back?" Faith said barely audibly.

            "Yes." Del replied, though it hurt her very throat to say it.

            "No." Faith said, stronger, "Screw that, I wont." Del screwed up her eyes. "Del?" Faith said frantically, "I won't! I cant'! He can't make me!"

Images were flying through her mind, scenes from her child hood:

_Faith backed against the wall, crying, _

_'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' _

_but he kept advancing,_

_            'You're **sorry**? You little bitch! You spilt my beer- that's wasting the money that I **slave** away to earn! What the fuck do you do? Huh? Sit around on your god-damned ass and eat away **my** profits, and spill my friggin beer! And you say you're **sorry?** Tell me, runt, what good does that do **me?**"_

_            "Leave her be, babe, she's just a kid…"_

_            "Just a kid!?" He cried, turning on her mother instead. "She eats a whole damned lot for just a bloody kid!" Her mother quaked, and Faith, only six years old, croaked,_

_            "No." As he backhanded her mother across the face. He snapped back to the child,_

_            "What did you say?"_

            "I wont." Faith repeated weakly. "It's my choice."

"Honey… you're fourteen… legally, it's your parent's choice… and by law… he and your mother are still your parents."

"No! He sent me away! He didn't _want_ me! You're my parents! You're more of a Mom than she ever was, and he… he… I won't!"

It physically hurt Del to continue after hearing Faith say that, and she knew that every fibre of her being wanted to fight this- but she knew it was impossible. She had no choice.

            "He is your father. You weren't taken away, he gave you up, so by law…"

            "Screw the law! You said it yourself- he gave me up! He sent me away because he refused to have a witch in his house, so why would he want me back now? 

            _The moment of joy she had felt at reading the letter, the knowledge that there was more out there for her, and that however absurd it sounded, this was **real**, was extinguished by the look on her father's face. _

_            "A **witch?**_" _He said, as if describing something you scrape from the bottom of your shoe. "You been doing magic, then, little witch?"_

_            "No, Papa, I…"_

_            "Shut it, witch! You filthy little slag. You think I'm gonna spend my hard earned cash on you learning magic tricks?"_

_            "I…"_

_            "Screw it, kid! I'm not having no friggin **magic** under **my** roof!"_

_            "Then I wont go." She murmured, though she hated to say it._

_            "Bugger that! You gonna try to live off me for friggin ever!?" He bellowed. She gaped, unsure what she could say to please him. "Get out." He said._

_            "Papa…"_

_            "GET OUT!" He cried, grabbing her arm. He heaved her across the room, threw open the door, and forced her through it so hard that she fell head first down the rickety front steps._

_            "No!" Her mother cried, only earning herself a hard smack._

_            "Keep off my property." Her snarled at the eleven year old sitting crumpled and bleeding at the foot of the steps. He slammed the door._

_Her mother had managed to arrange the foster family with an agency in England, and Faith had worked out how to reply to say she would like to come to the school, but couldn't pay. It turned out all right, Dumbledore sorting her placement so she ended up with a witch, and she was told not to worry about the money. She never saw her father again…_

            "Why would he want me back now?" She repeated forlornly, "I'm still a witch. I'm _more_ of a witch! And I'll still be at Hogwarts, so…" She couldn't miss Del's wince. "I _will_ still be going to Hogwarts, right? Del? Right? This _would_ just be for the holdidays? I _am_ staying at Hogwarts?"

            "No." Del croaked. "He… you'll go to muggle school."

            "_Muggle school!?"_ Faith cried, "He makes the first eleven years of my life a living hell, then kicks me out, and now he wants to wreck the first chance I have at a decent life!? He wants me to live as a muggle after all this? No friggin way, Del! No! Get Dumbledore to stop this!"

            "Faith…"

            "No, Del, please… Dumbledore could sort it…"

            "No he can't." She said. "This is beyond Dumbledore…"

            "Then the ministry, Fudge, even… there must be someone, some way… If they knew what he was like…"

            "Fudge supports it." Del said quietly. "He wants you to go."

            "_What?_ He doesn't even know me!"

            "I don't know why… maybe because you're friends with Harry… I…"

            "I don't believe this." Faith said in barely more than a whisper. "I can't believe this… it's not real… it can't be… this is all a dream… a nightmare…

            "I'm so sorry…"

            "I really have no choice in this?"

            "No."

            "When?"

            "Your flight is in two days."

            "Flight? I even…" Faith's vision blurred with realisation, "He wants to cut me off completely from the wizarding world."

            "Yes."

            "And Fudge? My wand?"

            "You have to hand your wand over, as you didn't finish school…"

            "That's not fair." Faith breathed.

            "I know, baby, I know." Del cooed, tears streaming down her face while Faith's remained dry. Her eyes were wide, seeing nothing, and Del just wished the girl would say something more. All of a sudden, Faith choked a sob, and shivers overtook her body. Jo rushed forwards, and wrapped her arms around the girl who had been her daughter for the past three years.

            Three teenagers sat on three beds in three different homes, in different places, all hunched over in the same position, elbows leant on their knees, letters in their hands, gaping at the piece of parchment they continued to read over and over, hoping that it might be different when they read it again. Eventually each just starred at the last word in the main body of the text:

Goodbye.

Faith returned to Boston, where her father greeted her with a warm hug, a few questions, and no mention of her absent mother. When she still hadn't appeared the next day, Faith braved the question, and wished she hadn't. He told her very shortly that her mother was dead, and volunteered no detail as to how she had died. Over the next few days, his forced good mood wore out, and it didn't take long for Faith to figure out that the only reason she was back was so that he received child benefits. In two weeks, the past three years in England seemed like a wonderful, distant dream. She could recite precisely what poultice she could use to stop the swelling about her bruises, what charms she could use to lock her door, or stop him touching her ever again, and what spells would keep his friends away from her rapidly maturing body, but she could not _use_ any of them.

_When did I die?_ She sometimes asked herself. _Because this is hell._

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Please review- I really want to know what you guys think of this one!

-Sam


	3. Building an army

Heya Guys. I'm really glad that you like this story, and sorry, but I am still gonna concentrate on All in the blood, and of course, I must put some time to revision as I'm flunking Chem and I have an exam in a couple of weeks (AS's -Yuck. And when I say flunking, think E!! :( )

Soo, glad you like it- some one asked if faith would still be the slayer, the answer is Yeh! Of course!

As for her returning to Hogwarts, wait and see!!

New chapter now- The beginning is very very fast forward, and then we get to pretty much the sort of 'present time' for most of the story. So, yeah, enjoy.

Chapter 2

It was roughly two years, any many father-avoiding activities, after she moved back home that the council approached Faith. Her watcher became her safety net- much more effective than the string of bad boyfriends Faith had had in an attempt to stay out as much as possible. Her patrols were her reason to get out of the house, and her newly gained strength her means to prevent her father from stopping her. Faith became utterly submerged in being the slayer, and in months she was better, stronger, faster than her watcher would have believed possible.

When Faith got home one night to find the house in ashy ruins, police, paramedics and firemen everywhere, Faith didn't know what to think, or feel. Her father had died in the fire. It seemed that it was arson, and the doors had been blocked off- he had been murdered. She didn't feel sad- why should she, to be perfectly honest? But she couldn't be glad either, it was just too horrible, even for him. It was only later that she found out who had killed her only blood family in an attempt to rattle her. Kakistos made her life even harder than it had been, culminating in the gruesome murder of her watcher, who had taken her in after the fire.

Faith ran. She ran as fast and far as she could, her outer shields hardening rapidly, her eyes closing to real emotion. And soon she reached Sunnydale, home of the other Slayer.

As she got closer to Buffy, and integrated into her new, and apparently promising life in Sunnydale, Faith sometimes wondered what had happened to the other three, though she never dwelt on it for long as she couldn't bare the thought of the world that had released her back to her father. Besides- it was barely real to her now anyway. A significant part of her truly believed that the wizarding world, Adelaide, Hogwarts, Harry and the others, was no more than a fantasy she had created to escape real life.

As the year progressed, she knew nothing of the fear spreading from the acceptance of Voldemort's return. She knew nothing of the growing power of both sides in preparation fro war. And she knew nothing of Harry's turmoil over his secret- the prophecy he was afraid to reveal even to his closest friends.

Towards the end of the winter, Faith began to have dreams. Dreams she had not experienced for many years. Red eyes, chilling laughter, a skull from which a snake protruded… she ignored them. They were figments of her fantasy.

And now there was this new watcher, a moron if she'd ever seen one, and a fat ass, very much not dead demon. She and Buffy marched down the alleyway, despatching vamps as they went. Buffy grabbed the figure in the shadows and threw him against a dumpster. Faith thrust with her stake,

"NO!" Buffy cried at the last moment, and Faith's fist hit the man's chest. All three gaped at the place where the stake _should_ have pierced his chest, over his rapidly beating heart. Faith stiffly withdrew her hand, looking at it in amazement as she unclenched her fist.

"What the f…?" She asked no one in particular. She and Buffy looked around, but the stake wasn't on the ground… it had just disappeared, right when Faith really needed it to. So they turned to the man,

"I…" He spluttered.

"Who are you?" Faith snapped, "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"My name is Allan Finch."

"The deputy mayor?" Buffy asked. He nodded as Buffy shot Faith a bewildered look.

"You have to stop him." Finch gasped, "I can't… you must…"

"Stop who?" Faith asked.

"From doin what?" Buffy added.

"Wilkins… ascension…"

"The mayor?" Buffy almost laughed.

"What do you mean 'ascension'?"

"Become… pure demon… after tonight… invincible…"

"Invincible?" Faith said tiredly, "Oh for gods sake…"

"Must stop him…"

"Is he human?" Buffy asked. Finch shook his head fervently,

"Don't know what he is… over 100 years old…"

"Looks good for his years." Faith said appreciatively.

"Yeah well so do I." Said a voice. The slayers spun to see Angel, who continued, "Balthazar has Giles."

"You have to stop him… tonight…" Finch murmured over and over. The slayers looked at each other, and Faith said,

"You an' Angel deal with stair-master and his undead army?"

"Sure." Buffy nodded, "But…"

"I'll be fine." Faith cut her off, "I'll check out Wilkins, see what the deal is. You know me, I'll be five by five."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Faith grinned, and yanked Buffy's head forward, kissing her on the forehead before grabbing Finch and snapping,

"Lead the way."

"So, slayer, the mayor said an hour later. "You think you can just waltz in here- on a night like this- and ruin everything I have worked for, for _a_ _hundred years!?_" Faith struggled against Trick and another vamp who held her fast, one on each side. Finch, who had been found and bought in by the mayor's guys despite Faith's strict, and as far as she could see, very simple orders to get the hell out of town, cowered in the corner.

"That was the plan." Faith said.

"Well that just will not do." The mayor said in a reasonable tone. Trick leant down to Faith's ear and whispered,

"If you thought Kakistos was bad… well, he wasn't anything on the honourable mayor." Faith shivered at the name, but kept her expression glassy

"Guess I'll just need an even bigger stake then." She quipped. The mayor laughed,

"Now now… ah drat. Look at the time. Just hold her there a moment while I do this, would you?" He knelt within the pentagram drawn on the floor among various ritual items, and began to chant.

"NO!" Finch yelled, and leapt forward in the bravery that for most people only comes when you know you're already dead. He knocked the mayor backward, smashing a ritual vase and prompting Trick to make a huge mistake in releasing Faith to aid his boss. Vamp number two was flat in seconds, and Faith turned to the major fray just in time to see the mayor snap his deputy's neck with a sickening crack.

"No!" She cried. She threw herself at Trick, and they rolled together, utterly wrecking the whole ceremonial area. Wilkins cried out in anger, and dragged the slayer off Trick, giving the vampire his chance. The mayor held her with uncanny strength, rank and honour forgotten, while Trick went in for the kill. Faith couldn't move, and closed her eyes in anticipation. As she felt warm breath on her throat, Faith screamed,

"Inflammare!" With no idea why she was even bothering. Her eyes opened to Trick's screams as flames engulfed him, and her heart beat faster, the part of her that had flared when the stake had disappeared once again tingling with excitement. The mayor had fallen backwards at the sudden burst of heat, pulling Faith down on top of him and giving her the upper hand. They wrestled hand to hand, each very well aware that this was to the death. Faith stuck out a hand for balance and flinched as it caught the edge of something sharp. Her fingers automatically gripped the broken piece of ceremonial vase, and with a final cry, she thrust it into his chest and backed up as quick as she could when he lost his grip in shock.

Before her very eyes she saw the mayor drag his last gulping breaths, and when his eyes no longer saw, and his chest no longer rose, his skin seemed to shrivel, his hundred years of ageless life finally catching up to him. In moments he resembled only the mummies in SunnyDale museum. Faith grimaced, and with a last glanced around the trashed office, she ran.

"You miss her." Harry said abruptly.

"Huh?" Hermione gasped, "Who?" Harry smiled,

"You know who."

Hermione sighed, and smiled sadly,

"Course I do. So do you."

"We weren't close like you an' her were." He replied, shaking his head. "You two… total opposites, but I never saw better friends. Ever since that first week when everyone was so mean to you."

"She nearly laid Ron out." Hermione chuckled.

"You ever wonder why she never wrote back?" Harry asked. Hermione looked sideways at him with an odd smile,

"I guess it was better than she had thought it would be." She shrugged "Maybe her Dad really had changed…" She trailed off, "I just wish we could have said a proper good bye."

"Yeah." Harry said, afraid that a longer answer would betray his sorrow at something that seemed so trivial with all that had happened in the past couple of years.

"Would be nice to know what happened." Hermione sighed.

"What happened when?" Ron cut in, sitting down beside them.

"This is ridiculous." Kingsley exclaimed, "Nine people in the last three days, just in London. They're not even trying to cover their tracks."

"There're more everywhere, and they're turning, not just killing."

"So he's gathering an army of vampires too, then?" Lupin said.

"It seems so." Dumbledore agreed tiredly.

"We just don't have enough people to take them on such a scale!" Kingsley said. "And no one who is really an expert…"

"What does Fudge say?"

"He insists he is doing all that he can."

"Which is?"

"He wont tell me." Dumbledore admitted.

"He what?"

"The minister will not divulge his plans to me. He says that he is calling in a favour with someone who has a great deal of expertise in this field… but he would not tell me who."

"Well who could it be? Anyone like that… we would know. He's just stalling."

"Yeah, he's probably looking for the vampire slayer!" Someone cried, and many of them laughed.

"Hey B!" Faith called as she entered the library.

"Faith! Are you ok?"

"Uh-huh, five by five… why?"

Buffy Wes and Giles all just starred at her. "Oh. Right… the mayor." She said. "I dealt with it." She shrugged.

"It's all over the papers, in the news, but no details."

"Weell… Finch showed me the way and told me the deal, and then I told him to get outta dodge, which he failed at. Fought off the guards, managed to kill Trick and fought Wilkins, then I stabbed him an' he went all mummyish."

"Baby be careful?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"More like in severe need of anti-aging cream." Faith replied.

Wesley had been scribbling all this down in his journal. Giles asked,

"So he definitely wasn't human then?"

"Definitely not." Faith replied, "But I knew that before I skewered him."

"Of course."

Faith and Buffy shared a withering look, just as Xander Willow and Oz burst through the door.

"You guys seen the TV? Someone killed the mayor!"

Faith raised her hand.

"Huh?" Willow asked, "But…that's not… I'm confused."

"Demon." Buffy shrugged.

"Oh."

"But there's a huge investigation into the murder…" Xander said, "What if they come looking?"

"They wont." Faith replied.

"Not to be blunt," Oz said, "But why not?"

"You didn't see mayors body." She told them, "Plus his finger prints will be on Finch's broken neck, _and_ there was some weird shit in that office."

"None the less." Wesley began, "It still seems as if it would be a good idea for you to stay out of the way for a while… and incidentally… the council have contacted me on a matter of some importance…" He looked around at the group, who were all looking at him in disbelief. "There is an assignment I would like you, Faith, to fulfil."

"A what now?" She exclaimed.

"An assignment… in England."

"England!?" Several of them cried.

"There has been a huge rise in vampire attacks of late…" He forged on, "And the number of victims who _stay dead_ is negligible."

"They're turning them all?" Giles said.

"Someone is building an army." Buffy commented.

"Crap." Faith added.

"You see the importance of this?" Wesley said with triumph, "The presence of a slayer is now imperative, and as this mayor situation puts you in an awkward position, and there are _far_ less people who would notice your absence, you are the obvious choice."

"Thanks." Faith said sarcastically.

"I merely…"

"I know." She sighed, "I get it. SunnyD ain't the only place with vamp problems, so I guess it's a bit unfair for it to hog _both_ slayers."

"Faith…" Buffy began.

"Na B, it's ok… if ya think you can manage without me."

Buffy chuckled,

"I'll be five by five."

Faith shrugged,

"And hey, I've always kinda wanted to go to England." Which was almost true… she'd only missed out the word 'back'.

Faith stood at the airport with her small amount of luggage and looked around, unable to stop the large but sad smile on her face. All the scoobies were here, even Cordy. They all said their goodbyes, and Buffy hugged her tight, holding on for a moment longer to whisper,

"Be careful."

"Yes mom." Faith teased.

"A council representative will meet you at Heathrow and act as your watcher while you are there. You will report to them frequently, understood?" Faith threw him a salute, and chuckled, saying,

"Chill out a bit Wes."

"See ya." Buffy said once more.

"I'll be back before you know it." Faith replied, and the slayers shared a last looked that told each that the other knew that could be very false. Faith smiled, said,

"Bye guys." And walked through her gate.

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Bit more light hearted, yey!

Please review!!!


	4. London

Heya people!! Sorry its been so long! Thanks for all the reviews- it means a lot that you guys still read this when I have said that it wont have fast updates.

Dur'id the Druid- I promise it wont be all sappy, lots of angst to come, don't worry.

I'll save you all the banter as you've been so patient.

Chapter 3 

            Faith walked out of the plane and into the attached tunnel, wondering what this 'council representative' would be like, and where she was staying. In fact she was thinking about anything she _could_, other than the fact that she was back in England, and that only days ago she was given some sort of proof that her so called fantasy, wasn't one. She was _not_ thinking of the way from here to Adelaide's. She was _not _thinking of Hogwarts, or Diagon Alley, or Harry and the others… she _definitely_ wasn't thinking about Harry and the others. She went through passport control, and out through the gate, and even without the sign for 'Faith Winters' she would have recognised the watcher. The woman was dressed in an immaculate black suit, her mousy brown hair tied tightly back and a small, smart bag tucked under one arm. Faith rolled her eyes and sidled over,

            "Hey, I'm Faith." She said. The watcher looked her up and down, and raised one eyebrow. She held out her hand,

            "Elizabeth Weatherly." Faith shook her hand, and Weatherly offered to take her suitcase.

            "I got it." Faith replied.

            "Shall we then?" She said, motioning for Faith to follow her.

            "What's the deal then?" Faith asked as they walked. "Do we know _who_ is gatherin' this army?"

Weatherly looked a little surprised, but nodded slowly,

            "Yes. He is a very powerful sorcerer. He rose to power once before, but has been… dormant… for quite some time. Now that he has returned, the forces of darkness are all too eager to back him."

Faith felt her throat dry up, and scenes from the dreams flashed into her mind. She followed Weatherly to a waiting car, and when they were inside, she said,

            "So… does this guy have a name?"

Weatherly looked at her very strangely, and shook her head, not meeting Faith's eyes,

            "Not yet. We don't know his name."

            "So you have all this knowledge on him, but you don't have a name?" Faith said in disbelief.

            "I'm afraid not."

            "Right." Faith shook her head and took to looking out of the window, only half listening to Weatherly's explanations of their accommodations, and how things were going to work. As Faith let her eyes trail across the buildings lining the London streets, she suddenly snapped to attention, gaping through the window and trying to get a better look at the building they had just past. It wasn't much to look at… an old pub with a sign swinging in the wind- The Leaky Cauldron. Faith let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when the pub was out of sight. Weatherly was starring at her,

            "Faith?"

The slayer managed to move her wide eyed gaze up to her watcher's face,

            "Uh-huh?"

            "Is everything alright?"

            "Yeah… fine. Just fine."

But inside Faith was reeling… if her so called fantasies weren't true, then she had never been to England. So how come the pub she had thought up looked exactly like the one they'd just passed?

            Harry Potter sat by his window in the Gryffindor dorm room, gazing out across the grounds. His heart felt heavy as it had all year. This sixteen-year-old boy had lost much more in his lifetime than most people did in fifty or sixty years. He had always thought he would manage, as long as he had the people that mattered around him. For the first three years of Hogwarts, that had been, other than Dumbledore, Hermione, Ron and Faith. Then he had gained Sirius… though he felt that he paid for this with the loss of Faith days later. Then Voldemort returned, and Cedric Diggory died, at least partly because of Harry. And _now_ Sirius was gone too, and he had the weight of the prophecy on his shoulders. Of course, he still had Ron and Hermione, but recently, he'd started having dreams again, images of Voldemort, the dark mark… and he'd found himself missing Faith much more than usual. Somehow, every time he awoke from the dreams, he felt as if Faith had just left again. Harry looked around the dark room at his sleeping dorm-mates, and leant his head back against the wall. A minute later, he suddenly stood up, and crossed to his trunk, taking out a piece of parchment and a quill. He had no clue why he was bothering, as he knew he would receive no reply. For almost a year he had continued to write letters to the fourth of their group, and he was sure Hermione had kept writing for longer. Now, for the first time in over a year and a half, he began a letter,

Dear Faith,

            I honestly don't know why I'm writing this… it's about midnight, and I'm straining my eyes to even see the page, not to mention that I'm pretty certain you wont even get this, and if you do, you wont reply… but I just felt like it.

            How are you? Long time no see, huh? So much has happened since you left, Faith. Voldemort's back for a start. He had a deatheater planted in the school for a whole year and Dumbledore never knew. He sorted it so that Voldemort could get me, and use my blood to restore himself to power. Then last year, he was trying to get his hands on the original prophecy- the reason he came after me in the first place. Dumbledore finally explained it all to me, and to tell the truth, I'm scared. The prophecy says that either he'll kill me, or I'll kill him. Simple as that. I have to be murdered, or do the murdering- great choice. Ron and Hermione don't know. I haven't told them what Dumbledore told me, and they don't ask. They know I've been in a weird mood since that night…since Sirius died. Because of me. Voldemort did this thing where he gets in my head- I could have stopped it if I'd kept training with Snape, but I didn't. He tricked me into thinking he had Sirius, so I went after him, and got him killed when he came to save me. He died because of me, and no one will say it. Snape now hates me even more than before because I bothered to stand up to him. He doesn't even care that Sirius is dead.

            I don't know what to do, Faith. Voldemort hasn't made a move this whole year, and I feel like we're just sitting here, waiting for him. What if I can't defeat him? What if because of me, he wins, and everyone, Hermione, Ron, _you_, everyone suffers because of it? Or even… what if I _can_ win? What if I do it? Then what?

            I've started having these weird dreams again, about Voldemort and all that crap. And since they started, I've just wanted to talk to you so badly. I wish you were still here, Faith, somehow I get the feeling it might not have been so bad. Maybe that's stupid, I don't know. But I still wish you were here.

            Hermione reckons that we never heard from you because your life back home was better than you thought it would be… or that could just be wishful thinking. She's getting pretty good at hiding her emotions. I don't know why. I don't know if you just wanted to forget us, or if for some reason you never got any of our letters… I don't know. But I miss you, we all do. And I hope that, even if it's years and years from now, I hope that some day I'll see you again. You were a wicked friend.

- Harry

He considered writing Harry Potter. Or adding Potter in brackets, or saying, Harry Potter, you remember? The guy who thought you were his friend for three years? But he couldn't. Harry had never known why, but he'd never been able to be angry about Faith not replying. He folded up the paper, and wrote her name on the outside. Then he grabbed his invisibility cloak, and headed for the owlry, not caring that it was very literally the middle of the night.

            Harry stood around for a few minutes, until Hedwig returned. He stroked her feathers, and tied the letter to her leg.

            "Take this to Faith." He said, then laughed bitterly, "If you can find her."

Hedwig pecked him affectionately, and flew off.

            Faith sat starring out of the hotel window. For some reason she couldn't sleep. Weatherly had been asleep in the next room for hours, and had made Faith promise not to go out patrolling tonight. So she sighed, and starred out at the starry night. Suddenly, a large snowy owl landed on the window sill, shocking Faith so much that she nearly fell off the window seat. She gaped at the bird for a moment, until she saw something on its leg- a piece of paper… no, not regular paper- Parchment. When she had managed to regain motor functions, Faith slid the window open, and untied the parchment, gaping from delivery to owl and back.

            "Hedwig?" She gasped. Her name was written in ink on the folded sheet, in handwriting Faith would have recognised anywhere. "No way." She breathed. She unfolded the letter, and read it through, her eyes burning by the time she reached the end. She read it through several times, sitting there for god knows how long. Suddenly, having got bored, the owl flew off, and Faith nearly fell out of the window for reaching after it, "Wait!" She cried, "Hedwig, come back!" But the owl ignored her, and kept flying. Faith gazed at the letter in her grasp- the letter from a friend she had convinced herself was not real. Meaning… _all of it was real._ Everything, Hogwarts, Voldemort, her friends… they were all real. So why had she not received any letters before now? That wasn't so hard to answer. The timeframe Harry mentioned was all during her time at her father's- he must have intercepted her mail in his efforts to cut her off completely. Faith felt a tear roll down her cheek, and wiped it away angrily. She was a slayer. She had seen things, dealt with things that would drive others mad- she did _not_ cry. The letter still in her grasp, she marched through to the watchers room, and said loudly,

            "It's Voldemort, isn't it?"

Weatherly awoke, startled,

            "What? Faith…?"

            "The _sorcerer. _It's Voldemort, isn't it?"

            "Faith, it's the middle of the night… I don't know what you're…"

            "No bullshit!" She cried, "Tell me the truth! I'm meant to be dealing with this vamp army, right? So tell me the deal- tell me what I'm dealing with here."

Weatherly starred at the slayer across the darkened room. She could tell that Faith was rather distressed about something… but she didn't understand how the girl knew about Voldemort, or why she was so angry about not being told. However, she also knew that Faith was the kind of person who would not let off until she had what she wanted. Weatherly sighed,

            "Yes. I have no idea how you know that… but yes, it's Voldemort."

            "And he's a wizard, not a sorcerer."

            "How do you…?"

            "Because I'm a witch." Faith snapped back, "Or I was… I went to Hogwarts for three years!"

Weatherly was wide awake now- how had she not known that her charge was a witch?

"At the end of my third year my father forced me to leave- Fudge supported him, wouldn't let Dumbledore interfere… I never knew why. My _Dad_ cut me off from everything magical, and I eventually believed I'd made it all up. How could any of it be true when I was…" Faith trailed off, suddenly realising that she was telling all this to someone she'd just met- a _watcher_ of all people. She looked into Weatherly's shocked face, and said, more quietly,

"Was it Fudge that called on the council?"

Weatherly nodded.

"And it was him that said the slayer shouldn't know about wizards, huh?"

"I believe so."

Faith chuckled,

"Makes sense now." She said, "He wouldn't want someone as powerful as a slayer finding out about magic, now, would he?"

"I don't understand." Weatherly said.

"Fudge is a coward, and an idiot. He is terrified of anyone and anything with the potential to be more powerful than him. I guess maybe that's why he wanted me out of Hogwarts… if he somehow knew I was a potential…"

"He surely wouldn't be so naive…"

"Don't be so sure. Look… Liz. If Fudge is running this show, then the chances are we ain't seeing the whole picture. Fudge ignores as much as he can to pretend he's safe. We want the _real_ goods on Voldemort, we need to find Dumbledore."

"No, Faith, the council's orders…"

"Forget the orders, Liz." Faith snapped, "How much does the council know about the wizarding world?"

The watcher shrugged tiredly,

            "Not much. The ministry of magic keeps very much to itself."

            "Bingo." Faith smiled a little, "I'm telling you that Dumbledore will have a hell of a lot more intel. than Fudge. He knows more about Voldemort, more about what he's capable of, where he'll go, what he's gonna do. If I'm gonna try to tackle this vamp army, I'm gonna need the _real_ experts, not Cornelius-friggin-Fudge."

Weatherly cracked a smile, chuckling,

            "They were certainly right about your temperament." She commented. Faith frowned, but Weatherly shook her head, "I mean in a good way… they _warned_ me about it… but I bet you get a lot more done than the 'report in every five minutes' type of slayer.

            "Damn straight." Faith grinned, "An' you're not half as stiff as you pretend to be."

            "I wouldn't get very far in the council if I acted like I had my own brain, now would I?" Elizabeth joked. She sighed, "Look, I'll find out what I can about Dumbledore tomorrow- for now, we should really get some sleep."

            "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that…" Faith replied.

            "Lord knows why you had a sudden epiphany at two in the morning."

            "Lord knows." Faith murmured. "Night."

            "Good Night."

Faith returned to her own room, and sat on her bed, re-reading the letter once more. Harry was real. Harry Potter had written to her. The fact that he didn't really intend her to read the letter made no difference. Harry Potter and the wizarding world were _real_.

--------

Review please!!


	5. Patrolling

Hey there people. Thanks for reviews, I'm glad you're liking this story.

Lolly6- Harry doesn't frequently write to Faith, it's a one time thing.

Someone asked why I don't update very frequently- I've already said, this is not my mainstream fic at the moment, it's a sideline thing that I do when I can. Plus I'm in the middle of AS levels, as in, literally, Biology yesturday, Chemistry tomorrow, so just give me time.

All go read Becks89, witchlight and shooting star19's stories cos they are great!

So, new chapter, on I found rather fun. I it's a little bit short, but had to stop where it did. Hope you enjoy…

Chapter 4

            At breakfast the next day, when the owl's swooped in, Harry was shocked to see Hedwig flying towards him. She had no post, but sat before his plate and nibbled his bacon, while Harry murmured,

            "That was quick."

            "What was?" Ron asked. "You send a letter?"

            "No." Harry replied quickly (Too quickly, Hermione thought) "No, I just… well, Hedwig's been going off a lot recently, and, er, she came back quicker this time."

            "Oh." Ron said, uninterestedly. Hermione said nothing, but kept watching Harry as he thoughtfully stroked Hedwig's feathers.

            "They're accelerating." Faith declared as she slumped into an armchair in the hotel room.

            "Even more tonight then?" Elizabeth asked.

            "Yup. I got jumped by two separate trios looking to snack 'n' turn; saved three or four people from single vamps, and I found a whole crew of them in that park down the street, designating friggin hunting areas."

            "That is a lot."

            "Damn right it is. Either they're turning way more than we realised, or they're noticing that their numbers are being cut, so their sending everyone out to get as many people as possible, quick as possible."

            "Well, with your slay rate over the past week, the increase must at least be slowing."

            "Yeah. I just hope I'm not the only one out here, taking them out."

            "I don't believe we're the only ones taking out the vampires." Lupin declared.

            "I'd agree with you there." Kingsley said. "I know the others say they've had increasing numbers… but over the past week… it's as if there is someone just ahead of us… there are far fewer vamps than usual."

            "Perhaps… god forbid… Fudge's plan has come into action and is actually working?" Snape suggested.

            "I don't know, but if that is so, Fudge has bought in quite a team- the decrease in vampire activity is astounding… if this really is due to another player… well, they've done more in a week than we have this entire time." Lupin said.

            "That's exaggerating." Snape shook his head.

            "No." Kingsley replied, "It's not. Remus is right. I think we should find out what has caused this change, or we could be in for a nasty shock."

Lupin nodded his agreement,

            "I'll contact Dumbledore, see if he has heard anything."

            "Faith, I'm sorry… the council can't… or possible wont… find anything on Dumbledore's where-abouts… other than Hogwarts of course. If he is operating in London, I don't know where."

Faith sighed,

            "I guess I'll just have to keep looking then. Thanks anyway." She smiled at the watcher, and rifled through a pile of weapons. She grinned, and lifted a beautiful, lightweight sword, "I'm goin' out. See ya later."

            "Be careful."

            "I know. Don't wait up."

Faith walked through the streets, keeping to shadows and taking back streets whereever possible- not just to keep out of sight, but because these were the most likely places for attacks to occur.

Lupin, Kingsley and Snape were together tonight, roaming the streets and likely vampire hangouts, each on guard for vampires and what or who ever else it was taking the vamps out.

Faith had reached a retail park, where she was surrounded by vast warehouse-style buildings. She didn't like this bit- there were tonnes of dark alleys, but it took a relatively long time to get from one to the other due to the shear size of the buildings. A smile crept across the slayer's features when she saw a fire escape that lead right up to the roof of the nearest warehouse.

            "Bingo." She said to herself, and started to climb.

From the roof top she could easily reach any alley at the side of the warehouse, and she could jump from one building to the next across the narrow alleys. She would also be able to see a situation before those involved could see her. Even as she was contemplating all this, Faith heard the unmistakable sound of someone being thrown against the sheet-metal wall of one of the warehouses, and she set off running.

            "Serverus!" Lupin cried, drawing his wand. But as he raised it, one of the other attackers kicked it from his grasp, sending it clattering across the ground. Kingsley too had been disarmed, and as Snape freed himself, the trio found themselves surrounded by the nine vampires, and with only one wand.

            "Stay back!" Snape yelled, brandishing his wand. The lead vampire laughed,

            "Or what? You shoot that thing off, and your buddies will be dead before you can say 'wizard'."

The three wizards were thinking through any possible way of fighting off the vampires. They were relatively inexperienced at hand to hand combat, though they had more training in it than most wizards. In the narrow alley, four vamps came from one end, five from the other, the wizards in the middle.

From the edge of the roof, Faith watched the shadowy figures closing in, and a nasty smile played on her lips- showtime, she thought.

            Lupin reached into his robe, where he had a stake concealed, just in case. He knew that any moment, the vampires would attack, and without a wand, he would have to rely entirely on his hands and feet to keep himself alive. Shit, He thought to himself.

Suddenly a figure fell from nowhere, landing cat like behind the vamps.

            "What do you get when you have a girl, a sword, and nine butt ugly vampires?" The figure asked. The four vamps on that side spun to see the intruder, and with a sound like whistling wind, a blade swung, and all four exploded in a cloud of dust. "Oops." Said the figure, and the fight began.

With only five vampires remaining, it took less than a minute to despatch them, and soon Faith was standing with just the three wizards in the alley. She saw two thin lengths on wood lying on the ground nearby, and crouched to pick them up, her brow furrowing,

            "You guys ok?" She asked, still looking down at the wood in her hand.

            "Yes, thank you." Said one man, hesitantly.

            "Who are you?" Asked another. Faith looked up, and squinted through the darkness at the trio. Instead of answering, she asked,

            "Are these yours'?" Holding up what she had now determined to be wands.

            "Yes." Replied the first man, stepping forwards, and into a ray of moonlight. Faith gaped at him,

            "Proffessor Lupin?" She exclaimed. The wizard starred at her, his eyes wide, before gasping,

            "My goodness… Faith. Faith Winters."

Faith found herself grinning,

            "Yeah." She looked at the other two, not recognising one, but snorting a laugh at the third, "Snape."

            "Winters." He replied. Faith handed Lupin the wands, and shook her head, chuckling,

            "I'm guessing I just found Dumbledore's TAC-team."

            "In a way." Lupin replied, "But how did you…? I mean, what are you doing here? No one has heard from you in years."

            "I've missed something." Kingsley said.

            "Ah, yes." Lupin agreed, "Kingsley, this is Faith Winters, a former Hogwarts student, who left after her third year. Faith, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

            "Pleasure." Faith said offhandly. "Look, it's complicated, but I need to see Dumbledore…"

            "Not a chance." Snape snapped.

            "Excuse me?"

            "There is no way that you turn up in an alley and demand to see Dumbledore. For all we know this is a set up, and you're working for Voldemort."

            "As stiff as ever, I see." Faith commented.

            "As insolent as ever, I see." Snape countered.

            "Well that proves it's really me, then, huh?" She said. "Look, I just saved your butts from a major grilling… I know Voldemort is gathering a vamp army, an' I've been asked to help on that count, but I also know that Fudge is a moron, an' I wanna know what Dumbledore is thinkin'… if I have to…"

            "Like I said, not a chance. That is exactly what someone trying to infiltrate the order would say." Snape said.

            "What? What order? For gods sake, Snape, I was called in by…"

            "Why? Why in hell would an insolent teenager be called in to help with vampires? An insolent teenage girl at that?"

            "Sexist much?" Faith snapped.

            "Look here…"

            "Look here!" She replied, "You ain't my teacher any more, Snape, an' I'm willing to bet I got a bit more expertise in this area than you."

Lupin was looking on with interest, his eyes slowly widening at several phrases, such as 'I was called in', 'teenage girl' and 'expertise'.

            "How in hell do you presume to…"

            "Severus, stop bickering with the kid." Kingsley interrupted. Faith would have got irritated with being called a kid, but she was too happy about seeing Snape humiliated to care.

            "Severus does have a point, Faith." Lupin said with a strange smile. "Who called you in, and why you?"

            "Fudge arranged me being called in."

            "Fudge… you're his expert?" Snape scoffed, "Why?"

            "Because," Faith said, as if talking to a small child who found it hard to understand things, "I'm the Slayer."

            "The…" Snape looked as close to laughter as she had ever seen him.

            "Slayer, yeah." She replied.

            "The slayer is a myth." Kingsley said, grinning.

            "Wrong." Faith corrected. "The slayer is me."

            "But…"

            "I think she's telling the truth." Lupin said. Faith smiled at him- she had always liked the werewolf professor. She shrugged,

            "Gimme a truth potion if you have to." She said to Snape. He looked at her appraisingly a moment, and took something from inside his robes.

            "Here." He said, handing her the small vial of clear liquid. Faith rolled her eyes, but took it,

            "Fine." She snapped, and swallowed the contents, grimacing, "Gross." She murmured.

            "Are you working for Voldemort?" Snape asked.

            "No."

            "Who asked you to come here?"

            "The watchers council. They were asked for aid by the minister for magic."

            "Are you truly the vampire slayer?" Snape asked, disbelief in his voice.

            "Yes. One of them."

            "One of… but there is only one." Lupin said. Faith shrugged,

            "Buffy isn't much for rules."

            "Buffy?"

            "The other slayer. She drowned, but got revived… so she technically died and another slayer was called even though she was ok in the end."

            "Incredible." Lupin murmured. Faith was frowning. "What's wrong?" He asked. Faith's vision was going blurry. She managed to change focus, moving enough to look at Snape,

            "You…" She managed to say, "…bastard…" She gasped, before collapsing, the sword clattering to the ground beside her.

            "Faith!" Lupin cried, hurrying to her side.

            "Fear not, Remus." Snape said.

            "What the hell did you do? What was in that stuff?"

            "It is merely a sedative, mixed in with a truth potion."

            "You poisoned her!" Lupin accused in disbelief, "You accused her of being untrustworthy, and then poisoned the poor girl!"

            "It was a precaution, Remus. If the potion revealed that she was lying, then this would disarm her. And if, as it did, the potion revealed that she was righteous, then it enables us to take her to headquarters without telling her the location without permission."

Lupin knew that what Snape said was true, but it still felt wrong. He handed Kingsley the sword, and picked up Faith's limp form.

            "Lets get back then." He said solemnly.

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Review please!


	6. A Slayer's gotta do what a Slayer's gott...

Hey peeps, thanks for being so patient! Hopefully I'll be able to update this more often now, but its still not my mainstream fic so bare with me! Thanks for all the reviews, you guys rock!

btm-453- I never wrote a story called 'always remember C.R.E.A.M'! Sorry, you musta got confused! Is it a DA fic? (luv DA!)

Tanydwr- good luck with GCSE's!! AS's are over, thank god!

Witchlight- Woohoo! They're over, they're over!

You must all go read witchlight, Becks89 and Shootingstar19's stories cos they're wicked cool!  (sorry, im hyper, I just watched bring it on!)

Ooh, and you should go check out fanfic-frankie's story too cos she's a newbie in fanfic and will really appreciate your support, you wonderful people you.

So! On with the story…

Chapter 5- A slayer's gotta do what a slayer's gotta do…

            "Remus, Kingsley, Severus… what are you doing back so early?" Asked Molly Weasley as they came through the door, "Who is this?"

            "Take her to one of the bed rooms." Snape suggested, ignoring Mrs Weasley.

            "No need." Lupin replied.

            "What? Of course there is…"

            "No." Lupin replied, "She's coming to."

            "She's what? That's preposterous. The potion would put Hagrid out for longer than this…"

            "Whatever you say, Severus, but she is coming to!" Lupin snapped, heading for the kitchen instead. Mrs Weasley bustled quickly after them, and frowned while Lupin placed Faith in a chair and knelt beside her as she stirred. Looking at the brunette teenager, Mrs Weasley suddenly gasped,

            "It can't be…" She said. Lupin smiled up at her,

            "It is."

            "Faith Winters?"

            "Huh?" The slayer murmured, "Wha...? Snape… hey!" Her head suddenly snapped up, and she looked around sharply.

            "It's ok." Lupin soothed, "You're safe. We…"

            "Poisoned me." She finished accusingly.

            "That was Snape." Lupin said, well aware how immature it sounded, "I didn't know he was going to do that."

            "It was for the best." Snape said, though he didn't meet Faith furious gaze.

            "Where am I?" She asked Lupin.

            "You're in the head quarters of the Order of Phoenix."

            "Dumbledore's camp?"

            "Yes. Though he is personally at Hogwarts."

            "Yeah, of course." Faith said. She stretched uncomfortably, "What the hell was that stuff?"

            "A sedative." Snape replied,

            "Really?" Faith snapped sarcastically, "I never woulda guessed." She shook her head, and looked around the room, until her eyes fell upon the very confused Mrs Weasley. "Oh my god." Faith gasped, "Mrs Weasley?"

Molly smiled broadly,

            "Faith, my dear, I have no idea what's going on, but it is good to see you again." She said. Faith chuckled, and smiled back,

            "You too."

Several minutes were spent by both sides explaining exactly what this situation was. The order members were utterly shocked to realise that the increased rate of vampire destruction was in fact due to Faith. One teenage girl. Faith was amazed to find the extent of the initiative that had formed against Voldemort- the team she was on the edge of right now. And then there was the comment that made her heart soar and plummet at the same time.

            "Dumbledore has informed us that there has been an increase in vampire activity around Hogsmeade, too. It appears that much of the vampire force being gathered is being positioned near Hogwarts."

            "They're planning to attack the school?"

            "Possibly. We know that Voldemort still wants to get at Harry." It was the first time she had heard his name out loud in so long.

            "Is… is Harry safe there?" She said, trying to keep her voice professional.

            "Yes." Lupin said, "I believe he is. While Dumbledore is around…"

            "With all due respect to Dumbledore… he's gotten people in before." Faith replied.

            "True." Lupin sighed, "And if he is sending vampires in… perhaps that is where your efforts would be best aimed."

That was exactly what Faith had been waiting for, but now it scared her terribly. Not the vampires, she could deal with vamps, but the prospect of returning to Hogwarts, her friends and all she had lost.

            "It would be perfect." Kingsley exclaimed, "Voldemort would have no clue… she would just look like any other student. No one would have to know you were the slayer."

            "You could return to school there… it would be the perfect cover." Lupin agreed.

            "But I've missed over two years." Faith said a little pathetically.

            "I'm sure you would manage." Lupin smiled, "After all… weren't you good friends with Hermione?"

            "She'd have you up to date in weeks." Molly agreed, chuckling. Faith couldn't help but grin,

            "Yeah." She said quietly.

            "We'll need to talk to Dumbledore…"

            "An' I gotta speak to my watcher." Faith added.

            "Yes. How about we arrange a meeting for tomorrow. Midday, here. We could pick you up, use a portkey." Lupin said.

            "A what now?"

            "Portkey… an item, charmed to transport one or more people from A to B in moments." Lupin explained.

            "Cool."

            "Rather, yes." He agreed. They arranged the final details, and Lupin made a portkey right then to transport Faith back to her hotel, something she declared was 'wicked cool'.

She appeared in an alley beside the hotel just as dawn was breaking, and hurried back to her room.

Elizabeth was pacing anxiously in the same clothes she'd been wearing the night before.

            "Faith!" She exclaimed when she came in.        

            "Liz… tell me you haven't been up all night."

            "You didn't come back!"

            "I told you not to wait up… anyway, not important. I struck gold."

She explained the situation, and Liz agreed that the meeting with Dumbledore sounded like a good idea.

            "But Fudge wont think so." Faith said.

            "No. I don't know how the council will feel either."

            "Oh well, screw them." Faith shrugged. Liz laughed,

            "I really wish it were that simple."

            "It is, Liz. I'm the slayer, so I gotta go where the action is. The action is at Hogwarts, so that's where I gotta go. The council knows that, or if they don't then they really are no more than a loada pompous, stupid… no offense Liz, you're not like the big wigs- you're cool… But it is that simple."

Liz looked her slayer over- in one week she had gone through thinking she was an insolent trouble maker, to feeling sorry for her, to admiring her greatly. She smiled,

            "And Fudge has just called in a slayer, what she does once she's here he has no say in." She said. Faith grinned happily. "But now," Liz continued, "You should get some rest- as should I."

            "Good idea." Faith said, stretching. "See ya in a couple of hours."

            The meeting with Dumbledore didn't take long- he was clearly pleased to see her, if shocked that his former student was now a slayer, and he was all too happy to welcome her back into Hogwarts and cover all tracks that needed it. The discussion soon slid into the topic of Voldemort's plans, and each side disclosed as much as they could. But eventually Dumbledore declared that he must return to Hogwarts, and suggested that Faith go to Diagon Alley the next day, and get all that she would need for sixth year lessons, including a new uniform.

            "What… what about my wand?" She asked hesitantly. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at her clear excitement.

            "I believe it was returned to Mr Ollivander." He told her.

            "So I just need to go get it?" Faith replied, amazed that all this could be so simple.

            "That is all." Dumbledore assured her. "At five PM tomorrow, an owl will deliver a package to your hotel room. In it will be a portkey to bring both you and your watcher directly to my office at Hogwarts at quarter past five. Don't forget that you must be holding on to everything you need to bring with you."

            "Ok. Thank you." Faith said. "Ooh, and Dumbledore?"

            "Yes?"

            "Will I be back in the dorms, with the other girls?" she asked, "Cos, just… difficulty of getting out to patrol an' all…"

            "Yes… that is a very valid point. I think perhaps, as the sixth year dorm is full anyway- you shall be needing a private room."

            "I don't wanna be trouble…"

            "Nonsense, my dear, No trouble at all. I shall see you tomorrow. Miss Weatherly, Miss Winters, Good bye." And in a 'pop' he was gone.

            After using yet another portkey to return to the hotel, Elizabeth looked to her young charge, registering the excitement mixed with terror that showed in her eyes.

            "You didn't tell me that you were close to Harry Potter." She said eventually. Faith stiffened,

            "So?"

            "So… this is more personal that you wanted me to think."

            "Whatever, Liz." Faith snapped, "I'm here cos of the vamps- the vamps are heading for Hogwarts, so I…"

            "I know. I know that, Faith… but he has been of much interest over the last few years… a lot has happened…"

            "I know."

Elizabeth sighed,

            "He is how you knew it was Voldemort?" She asked. Faith sighed, not meeting her watchers eyes,

            "Kind of." She replied. Liz frowned in confusion. "I got a letter from him… he said that he'd given up writing a long time ago, as he'd never gotten any replies… but that he just felt like it… I had had my suspicions when you said it was a 'dark sorcerer'… but at that stage I knew that it couldn't be Voldemort."

            "Why not?"

            "Because…" Faith frowned, "I just did. I've gotta go…"

            "No. Faith… I know I'm just another watcher to you… I understand you not trusting me immediately, but I want to be a friend to you."

            "It's complicated." Faith said shortly, and left the room. Liz sighed. She knew that Faith would be happy to see her friends again, but the watcher doubted that even they would ever know how much pain burnt inside the young slayer. She had a way of shutting off emotions to hide what she thought of as weakness. Faith was terrified to let herself feel pain… but for every day that she held it in, it got worse.

            It took Faith a long time to get to sleep that night. She tossed and turned, thinking about everything that had happened in the past week, and all that would happen tomorrow. Eventually shear exhaustion pulled her down, and she fell asleep.

            Images flashed before Faith's eyes. Those red eyes, that horrible laugh… She saw Hogwarts, the forest, flashes of light… and then slayer images, vampires, demons, she saw Kakistos, she heard her own yell as she thrust the broken beam into him, and other things, all in quick succession. Then suddenly she was looking into the face of a boy- Black hair, emerald green eyes, and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead… Harry…

Faith awoke sharply, breathing hard. Miles away in a Hogwarts dormitory, Harry Potter had also just sat bolt upright in his bed, eyes wide, and mind reeling. Only minutes later, each was once more sleeping.

            The next morning, Faith was up quicker than ever before. She was showered and dressed all before Elizabeth had even stirred. She went down to the hotel dining room and grabbed a couple of croissants, downing a cup of coffee and heading back up stairs to the room.

            At nine o'clock, Faith lost her patience. She gently shook the watcher,

            "Hey Liz? Wake up."

            "Wha?" She sat up quickly, and grabbed a stake from under the pillow.

            "Whoa!" Faith cried, "Relax, Liz- it's me."

            "Faith… sorry." Elizabeth said, dropping the stake, "What's the time?"

            "Nine."

            "Nine? Oh… I thought I over slept."

            "Na… just, Diagon ally… lots to do, lots to get… an'…"

            "I understand. Give me ten minutes?" Elizabeth yawned, and stretched, "I thought you usually slept til midday." She accused. Faith shrugged, grinned, and held up the plate of croissants.

            "I bought you breakfast."

            "Lucky me."

Faith grinned, and returned to her own room. Liz watched her go, shaking her head in amazement- there was not even a glimmer of the pain Faith had clearly been battling with the day before.

            "It's a pub." Elizabeth said.

            "Yep."

            "Faith, it is far to early for drinking, I…"

            "Chill, Liz. Just follow me." Faith led her inside the leaky cauldron, breathing in the smell that no other pub had. She looked around at the magical folk within, and smiled broadly.

            "Can I help you ladi… my lord." Tom faltered when Faith turned to him. "Faith Winters??"

            "Tha's me." Faith said, grinning now, "How ya doin' Tom?"

            "Not seen you in years!"

            "Not been around for years."

            "Didn't you leave Hogwarts?" Tom asked.

            "Yeah. Not that I had a choice. But now I do- I'm goin' back!"

            "You're returning to Hogwarts? Good for you- I suppose you'll be collecting your wand then, yes?"

            "Yup… so we could use some help getting into Diagon Alley."

            "Of course. Come along then."

Tom lead them out to the back, where just as Faith remembered, he tapped a brick above the dustbins with his wand, and the wall folded out to reveal Diagon Alley. "There you go, ladies." Tom said. He then smiled to Faith, and went back inside.

            "My God." Elizabeth exclaimed.

            "Isn't it just wicked cool?" Faith said. "Come on. Gringotts first… I hope I still got something in my account…"

A little while later they re-emerged from Gringotts with a bag of wizarding money, and the shopping began. Faith had never been a major fan of muggle shopping, but stick her in Diagon Alley and she could be there for hours on end. She took Elizabeth to every shop she could think of, until they came to Ollivanders. Faith took a deep breath, and stepped in.

The shop was just like it had been five and a half years ago when she had first seen it. The rows and rows of long thin boxes lined the walls, and a musty smell not unlike the Sunnydale high library met her senses.

"May I help you, ladies?" Said a voice from the shadows, and Faith remembered how much Ollivander had creep her out first time.

"Yeah." Faith said, "I wanted to see if you had my wand… I had to leave Hogawarts a few ye…"

"Aaah, yes." Ollivander said. "Faith Winters. Twelve inches, mahogany, very resilient. With a core of… ah yes, a very strange one this was… an experiment of a cousin of mine- it rather scared you, I  remember."

"Creepy is all." Faith shrugged.

"Yes. A drop of blood from a slayer, and a drop of blood from a vampire, combined. My dear old cousin believed it would be incredibly powerful… but alas, he died shortly afterwards at the fangs of the vampire he took the blood from…rather foolish actually."

"Ah… yah… I guess…"

"Anyway." Ollivander shook himself a little, went to the back of the shop, and took out a black box. He opened it, and held it out to Faith. For a moment, she just looked at it, with a smile of recognition. She reached out her hand, feeling the connection she had with this object already. As she traced a finger down it's length, she felt a shiver flow through her. She gripped it, and felt strangely whole. "It is rather more pointed than most, as well." Ollivander said thoughtfully, looking into Faith's face, then over at Elizabeth. Faith faltered, not liking the way he was looking… this guy always seemed to know more than he should.

"That's the one." Faith said. "How much do I…"

"No, no. You bought this wand once already. Payment is not required."

"Thanks." Faith said. He handed her the box, and smiled his creepy smile.

"No, thank you." He replied. Faith forced herself to keep her smile, and left quickly.

"That guy is so wiggy." She exclaimed outside. She shuddered, "If I didn't know better I'd have said he was a demon."

"He does rather make your skin crawl, doesn't he?"

"Always did… ok… urgh, uniform." Faith said. Elizabeth chuckled. "What!?" the slayer cried indignantly.

"Oh nothing… I just… you in school uniform is quite an amusing picture."

"Oh shut up." Faith murmured sullenly. "School uniform can be worked- if you know how."

"I don't want to know."

Faith grinned, and they entered Madame Malkin's.

"Good morning- how may I help you?" Asked the witch in the shop.

"I need full Hogwarts uniform- Gryffindor."

"Very good… you can't be first year…"

"No. Just… erm, growth spurt."

"Ah, yes, I understand." The witch said with a knowing smile. "Just stand here, dear, and we'll have you fitted up in no time."

A little while later, slayer and watcher were sitting in a café for lunch with many bags of books, uniform, potions supplies… all that Faith had had to leave behind.

"I think I must have another look in that book shop." Elizabeth was saying. "There were some ancient tomes in there that…"

"You sound so much like Giles that it's scaring me." Faith said.

"If you read now and then you might find you like it." Elizabeth replied, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well… all the same… if you don't mind, I think I'll meet up with you later. Four at the leaky cauldron?"

"Where are you going?"

"There's someone I need to see. Don't worry, I wont be late."

Faith left her shopping with Tom at the leaky cauldron, and headed along the familiar route she had once taken frequently. She had always preferred taking muggle transport for short distances, rather than floo powder. Soon enough she was standing before the house that had been home to her for three years, and she was suddenly very conscious of her appearance. She patted her hair with a hand, and peered at a window to check for makeup smudges. Then she took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. When it opened, a middle-aged witch looked out at her with wide eyes. Faith managed to crack a crooked smile,

"Hi." She said.

"Faith?" Adelaide gasped.

"The one an' only." Faith replied. A moment later, they were in each other's arms.

----------

Review please!!

-Sam


	7. Back to Hogwarts

Hey people! Thanks for the reviews! Woohoo! Nearly the holidays! (and I know you lucky people in America have been on holiday for a month already, you don't have to rub it in!!)

So, another chapter for ya- some of it is a little pointless, and most of it is horribly sweet, but I have my master plan (mwahahahahaha)

So… on to a bit I think a lot of you have been waiting for!!

Chapter 6-Back to Hogwarts

            Faith sat in the armchair in the sitting room- it was exactly as she remembered it, but for the pictures of her and her friends that waved at her from the mantle piece- she had always stopped Adelaide putting them up before. Adelaide handed her a cup of tea, and sat opposite her. Faith sighed,

            "Explanation time I guess." She said. Adelaide smiled,

            "I don't want to pry…"

            "Don't be dumb." Faith snapped, "You were like a mother to me for three years. You have a right to know… everything." Adelaide swallowed, knowing that that 'everything' had been full of much emotion, including large amounts of pain.

            "My darling… what happened?"

            "Long story…" Faith looked into Adelaide's eyes, and made a last moment decision to skip the years with her father, despite what she had said moments earlier. "A couple of years after I went back, a woman approached me from the watcher's council…"

An hour later, Adelaide was sitting in stunned silence, while Faith waited desperately for her foster mother to say something- anything.

            "Adelaide?" She eventually asked.

            "Yes… sorry… I just… this is why Fudge wanted you out." She said dazedly. "He was afraid of the power of slayer and witch combined."

            "That's what I figured… dunno how he knew though- the council didn't until I was called."

            "The ministry has many seers and experts looking into that sort of thing- they've been extra careful about looking for potential powers since you know who."

            "Yeah… and now he's back." Faith murmured.

            "Yes. Worrying times."

            "It's gonna be ok." Faith said, very certainly. "I swear to you it'll be ok. Voldemort will be dealt with, just like any other bad guy."

            "Oh Faith, do be careful… I know you're the slayer, but you know…V…Voldemort…" She shuddered, "He's incredibly powerful…"

            "Which is why we need to squash him, quick. I'll be fine, Adelaide. I promise not to get killed."

            "Don't joke!"

            "I wasn't!" Faith exclaimed, then laughed, "It really will be ok."

            "I hope so." Adelaide sighed, "For all our sakes, I hope so."

At three thirty, Faith hugged Adelaide tight and they said their goodbyes.

            "Write." Adelaide ordered as she had on the last day of the holidays each year Faith was at Hogwarts.

            "I promise." Came Faith's traditional reply. Then she left, with a box full of home baked cookies Adelaide had forced on her. She waved from the end of the road, as Adelaide was still watching from the doorway, before turning away with a broad, genuine smile.

            Faith met Elizabeth at the leaky cauldron at four, and they retrieved the shopping and headed for the hotel, while Elizabeth told Faith about all the texts Flourish and Blott's had. Faith didn't complain, she just half tuned out, enough to reply when necessary without actually paying attention.

            Back at the hotel, they gathered all their things together, and at five o'clock, as Dumbledore had predicted, an owl swooped through the open window and dropped a small package into Faith's hand, before turning round and flying straight back out. Faith opened the package to reveal an empty ink pot. Faith shook her head, wondering what on earth went through Dumbledore's mind. They then took all their stuff down stairs, checked out, and went quickly round to the currently empty dining room where they made sure they were holding everything, and the portkey. At exactly quarter past five, they felt a very bizarre sensation, and were no longer in the hotel.

            When they landed in Dumbledore's office, Elizabeth fell over, and had she not been the slayer, Faith would have gone with her.

            "I will never get used to that." She exclaimed, helping her watcher to her feet, and gazing around the office she hadn't seen in years.

            "Miss Weatherly, Miss Winters." Dumbledore said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

            "Faith." Faith told him, "Just Faith, Professor."

            "Very well. You got everything you need, I trust?"

            "Yup."

            "Well then. All we need discuss is the arrangements for your lessons. I have spoken to the staff, and they are happy to take you for tutor session- it appears that you make quite an impact in your three years. But it might be best if you spend some time with a student as well… say, Hermione Granger, perhaps?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

            "They don't know I'm here yet, do they?" Faith asked.

            "Not yet, no. Hopefully Miss Granger will consent to help you a little…and I hope you wont mind sitting in with younger years lesson?"

            "Na, that'll be fine. I'll deal." Faith said. She was rather jumpy- excited and scared all at once about seeing her friends again. Dumbledore smiled.

            "I shall have your bags taken to your rooms- Miss Weatherly, your room will be just down the hall from the Gryffindor common room. Now… I believe you will be eager to see your friends, yes?"

            "Yeah." Faith replied, "Yes… I don't know how… it's gonna be weird."

            "Yes, it may be. But I have an idea."

            "A new room has appeared on the girl's stairs." Hermione said.

            "A new room? Just like that?" Harry asked.

            "Yup. I mean, it's not so shocking, after being here for almost six years, I just wonder what it's for."

            "Could just be one of those trick doors." Ron suggested.

            "I guess. Still odd though." Hermione sighed.

            "Hm." Harry said vaguely. He was starring unseeingly into the fire.

            "Harry?" Hermione asked, "Harry? Are you ok?"

            "Mate?" Ron asked. He waved a hand in front of his friend's face and Harry blinked,

            "What?" He asked.

            "You were completely out of it- what's up?" Ron said. "You've been weird all week."

            "Nothing… nothing's wrong… I just had a weird dream last night."

            "What about?" Hermione queried, "Should you tell Dumbledore?"

            "No." Harry snapped, "No, nothing like that… just a weird dream."

            "Harry…"

            "Excuse me." Said a man in a portrait on the wall.

            "Erm, us?" Ron asked.

            "Yes. You are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, correct?"

            "Yeah." Harry replied, frowning.

            "Well then the Headmaster requests your presence in his office, immediately."

            "Now?" Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall- it wasn't all that long until dinner.

            "Yes. Now."

            "I guess we should go then." She said, shrugging. The trio got up and left, each wondering what might be going on.

            "Did you do something?" Ron asked Harry.

            "What? Me?"

            "Yeah. You've usually done something."

            "I do not… and you've usually done it with me, anyway." Harry retorted. Ron shrugged,

            "Fine then… maybe it's about quidditch."

            "Since when has Dumbledore called quidditch meetings?" Harry said witheringly.

            "And I don't play quidditch." Hermione reminded them

            "So what can it be then?"

            "Let's find out." Harry said as they came to the gargoyle that marked Dumbledore's office. The Gargoyle moved aside before they could even start trying passwords, and Dumbledore greeted them at the bottom of the moving stairs,

            "Ah." He said, "Do come up." So frowning at each other, they followed the headmaster up the stairs. Inside the office, there were three chairs in front of the desk, to which they were directed. Beside Dumbledore's desk, sat a woman none of them knew, and beside her was an empty chair. All their faces showed their utter confusion, and Hermione now said,

            "Professor… is something wrong?"

            "Oh, no, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Not at all. There is, however, a situation I feel you three should know about, if only because I am certain you will know anyway within the next, oh, twenty minutes."

Again the trio looked between each other, still wondering.

"You see…" Dumbledore continued, "It seems that Lord Voldemort has been gathering an army of vampires; up and down the country, the number of vampire attacks have increased, but nowhere more than London, and Hogsmeade. We have had people working on this, but we've had little effect on their numbers. However, in the past week, the number of vampires in London was dramatically cut. We didn't know why, until we discovered that Minister Fudge had called in a favour with some people known as the Watcher's Council. He called in a slayer."

            "A slayer?" Hermione repeated, "But… slayer's are only a legend… aren't they? All the books say it is a myth."

Under an invisibility cloak on the apparently empty chair, Faith held back a laugh- she had been waiting for that- Hermione and her books.

            "That is what the books say, yes Miss Granger." Dumbledore agreed, "But slayers do in fact exist. The rather interesting side to this story is that Fudge of course had no idea of the identity of the slayer. Fudge once encouraged a girl to leave this school because he knew her to be a potential slayer. He feared the combined strength of slayer and witch, and was all too pleased to see her go… he did not know that it was the same girl that he has now bought in to help."

            "Wait." Ron said, "You're saying that one girl did more than the order could?"

            "The slayer possesses great strength, Mr Weasley. She is imbued with the power to fight vampires, demons and forces of darkness… and now she has been dragged into the fight against Voldemort."

            "But Professor…"Hermione said in frustration, "I don't understand… why are you telling us this?"

            "Because of the identity of the slayer. Because of who it is that has come to help with the growing numbers of vampires near Hogwarts."

Suddenly, from her hiding place, Faith saw Harry's head turn to her, and his eyes met hers, even though he couldn't see her. As she stood up, his eyes tracked hers, and as Dumbledore gestured towards the empty chair, she pulled off the cloak. Harry was on his feet before the cloak touched the floor, and the two teens stood just over a metre apart, their eyes locked.

Time seemed to stand still as the trio gaped. The teenage girl who appeared from nowhere wore dark, flared jeans, and a tight black top that accentuated her chest and showed a strip of mid riff. Her dark hair framed the beautiful face that none of them had seen in over two and a half years. Her eyes were lined in black, and she wore deep red lipstick. She had an odd smile, which was both nervous and confident at the same time.

            "Faith?" Hermione finally gasped. The word seemed to cut through the air, and a moment later Faith and Harry were in each other's arms, each clinging so tightly to the friend they hadn't seen in person in years, but had been feeling for quite some time now. When they came apart, there were tears in the slayer's eyes as she smiled. Harry was shoved aside as Hermione grabbed Faith instead, enveloping her in a hug. "I can't believe its you!" Hermione cried. Then Ron was hugging her too, his usual awkwardness forgotten. They came apart, and Faith laughed shortly,

            "It's good to see you guys." She said.

            "You never answered our letters." Hermione accused.

            "Never got 'em." Faith replied, "My father must have stopped them." But her eyes trailed to Harry, and he knew she'd got his earlier that week.

            "No, wait…" Hermione said, "You're the slayer?"

            "Yeah." Faith said, wincing.

            "That's why you left?" Ron asked.

            "No." Faith said quickly, "No, I left cos my father wanted the child benefits. I didn't get called as the slayer until two years after I left."

            "So, your father, he…" Hermione trailed off, looking apologetic.

            "Was a dick." Faith finished, "But I survived."

            "I can't believe you're here." Hermione choked.

            "Honestly? Me neither." Faith replied.

            "Why don't you all go to dinner?" Dumbledore suggested, "I think you must all have much to talk about." They all nodded, and Faith cast a look to Elizabeth, who was smiling widely. She nodded and gestured for Faith to go.

            So the group left the office and headed for the great hall, Hermione and Ron shooting questions all the way down to the entrance hall. When they reached the doors to the great hall, however, Faith let them walk ahead, and caught Harry's arm.

            "Harry." She said, "Would you say something?"

He hadn't made a sound since she had revealed herself, and Faith was beginning to worry that Harry was angry at her. He sighed,

            "I'm sorry." He said, "It's just… a bit of a shock."

            "Tell me about it." Faith replied, "I convince myself you guys weren't real."

            "It was pretty bad then." Harry stated quietly.

            "Pretty isn't the word I'd use."

            "You got my letter."

            "Yeah." Faith said, a smile breaking out, "I nearly fell off my seat when I saw Hedwig… I read the letter over an' over, an' I guess Hedwig got bored- flew off before I could stop her. I didn't have an owl to write back… I'm sorry…"

            "It's ok." Harry said, finally smiling, "I understand."

            "Then… we cool?" She asked. Harry actually grinned,

            "Yeah, we're cool." He said, and they walked together into the great hall. Heads turned as they walked by, and Harry whispered, "Feels so good to know that for once they're not looking at me." She grinned, and chuckled as they sat down with Ron and Hermione, who said nothing of their delay. Food was appearing on the dishes before them, and Faith's grin grew wider,

            "Damn I missed this." She exclaimed.

            "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Faith." Hermione said. They had all started serving themselves, while more students came in. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan seated themselves nearby, and Seamus said,

            "Hey, Harry, who's your frie…" He trailed off as Faith looked over at him, head on. "Jee-sus Mary and Joseph." He gasped.

            "Faith?" Dean added.

            "I'm back." She said, shrugging.

            "Bloody hell!" Dean cried. "Good to see you!"

            "You too, guys."

            "What are you yelling about?" Ginny Weasley asked Dean as she sat beside him- Faith didn't miss how close she sat, or the glint in her eyes when she looked at him. Faith just smiled, and waited. Dean pointed. Ginny gaped.

            "Faith!?"

            "Hey Gin."

            "Oh my God! Faith!" She leant across the table to hug the elder girl, grinning madly, "You came back!"

            "Yup."

            "You are coming back to school, right?" Ginny asked, eying her (very) non-uniform clothes. Faith nodded,

            "Yeah, course- I just got here is all."

            "Good." Ginny said firmly.

            "Someone has a fan." Harry murmured to Faith, who snorted a laugh, and shook her head,

            "As I recall, she was more interested in someone else not all that long ago."

            "Oh she got over that." Harry said.

            "In a major way." Hermione added, nodding over to Dean, who was whispering to the youngest Weasley.

            "I noticed- who'd have thought, huh?"

            "Fred and George flipped." Ron said.

            "Them?" Harry laughed, "You flipped."

Faith laughed as Ron went red just like he always had when he was embarrassed. Faith grinned.

This was just like old times.

--------

Can you say 'setting 'em up'? grins

Please review!


	8. Like she never left

Heya guys, update for ya as I'm away for two weeks from tomorrow.

Thanks for all the reviews, you lot rock!!

Chapter 7- Like she never left

            After dinner they spent hours chatting in the common room. Various old acquaintances came to greet Faith, (though she felt that several of the guys were more interested in her way of dressing than anything else) and it wasn't until about midnight that they ventured upstairs- the boys to their room and the girls to check out Faith's new room. Behind the new door was a large room, at least the size of the other dorms, but with only one bed. There was a wardrobe on one wall, a fireplace, a pair of sofas, and a writing desk.

            "Bloody hell!" Hermione exclaimed when they entered. Faith just gaped. Through a door on one wall was a private bathroom with a tub like the prefects' one, a shower, and other necessities. 

            "This is incredible!" Ginny said.

            "I… damn." Faith managed. Then she laughed, "Damn!"

            "It's huge!" Hermione cried accusingly.

            "I can't believe this… they can't be serious…"

            "Course they are- you've been called in to save us all, remember?" Hermione teased. Ginny laughed- they'd told her the deal earlier, though most people would not know Faith's true purpose at Hogwarts.

            "Wow." Faith said, grinning, "Wicked cool."

They hung around for a while 'exploring' Faith's room, eventually going off to their own rooms when Ginny's eyelids started drooping.

            "It's so amazing that you're here." Hermione said just as she was going, "I missed you, Faith."

            "I missed all o' you too." Faith replied. "So weird to be back here."

            "I better get some sleep… see you tomorrow."

            "Later, Herm."

            "Don't you dare start calling me that again." Hermione grinned. Faith grinned back mischievously. "Good night." Hermione said firmly.

            "Night." Faith said, then whispered, "Herm." Hermione scowled and slammed the door. Faith laughed, and dropped onto her sofa. My sofa, she thought grinning again. She looked around the room, and sighed. The huge bed looked very inviting, but Faith knew she was far too hyped up to sleep. So she took a stake from her bag, pulled on her jacket, and left the room.

            She found herself stopping in the darkened common room, the familiarity of the place hitting her again. She wandered around, seeing potions textbooks left out, wizard chess sets fighting on a table… she moved to the window, and looked out over the Hogwarts grounds- a view little changed in over two years, despite all that had happened in the dark haired Gryffindor's life. She sighed deeply, leaning against the window frame.

            "I thought you might be down here." Harry's voice broke into her reverie. She spun round, and saw that he was only a few steps behind her,

            "Hey… I musta been totally out of it- I didn't hear you." She said. He smiled softly,

            "Didn't mean to shock you."   

            "Na. It's ok." She said, turning to look out of the window again. Harry came to her side,

            "Can't sleep?"

            "Didn't even try." Faith replied, "I was gonna go patrol."

            "On your first night back? Relax a bit."

            "The vamps don't care what night it is."

Harry laughed softly,

            "I guess not."

            "How 'bout you? Why aren't you sleeping?"

            "Been having a hard time of it lately."

            "Dreams." Faith said- it was somewhere between a statement and a question. Harry grinned,

            "Yeah, dreams."

            "Last night…" Faith said, looking up as he was a little taller than her.

            "Yeah. So you did see it."

            "Yup."

            "So that stuff… it was slayer stuff?"

            "The screwiness that is my life, uh-huh."

            "Creepy." Harry murmured.

            "Wonder why we're sharing dreams?" Faith said.

            "I don't know. It's weird."

            "You can say that again." Faith pulled her jacket tighter round her, "Brr, it's cold in here."

            "Yeah, the fire's gone out." Harry said. He hesitated a moment, and then made a decision. He moved to the other side of the window, behind Faith, and wrapped his arms round her from behind- two years ago it would have gone completely unnoticed, but now, Faith stiffened at first in shock. She soon relaxed into his warming embrace, the memory of how close the group had been flooding her being, and the two Gryffindor friends just stood together watching the silent midnight world of the Hogwarts grounds.

            The next morning Faith awoke groggily, stretching out in the large, soft bed, and briefly wondering where she was. Then, as you always do, she remembered. Hogwarts! She was back at Hogwarts. She'd seen the whole gang again, and finally talked to Harry. The night before they had ended up discussing all sorts, including Sirius' death, and Faith had told Harry about her watcher's murder. Despite the fact that Faith prided herself on holding back emotions and building walls around herself, it had felt so good to finally confide in someone who she knew would understand. Of course, Buffy would have understood in some ways, but the blonde slayer hadn't had the kind of difficult childhood Faith had… of course, neither had Harry, exactly, but he had some idea at least. Faith kicked off the deep red covers, and stood up, crossing the room to her bathroom. She had a quick shower and dressed in her new uniform, fiddling with the skirt length and adjusting her tie, all before she looked at her watch, and yelped. She threw on her robe over the uniform, stuck her wand in a pocket, grabbed her bag, and ran from the room.

            Down in the common room, the only people remaining were Harry Ron and Hermione, who all grinned when they saw the slayer jump down the last three steps.

            "It's as if she never left." Hermione teased. Faith stuck out her tongue at her, and they all headed for the portrait hole.

            "If we've missed bacon, I'm blaming you." Ron told Faith as they climbed out.

After a hasty breakfast (with bacon, Ron was happy to find) the four headed to Defence against the dark arts, as Dumbledore had assured Faith that she should be able to handle the sixth year classes despite her missed time. They walked into the classroom about a minute before the lesson was to start, and at the lack of teacher, Faith asked,

"Who's teaching it now? I forgot to ask."

"Lupin." Harry replied.

"Wha… you're kidding? He didn't tell me he was back here."

Hermione grinned,

            "Guess he wanted to surprise you."

            "Yeah, well… at least he knows me already. I wont have to freak out a brand new teacher again." She grinned wickedly, "Never thought I'd say this, but I've missed this school."

            "Good morning everyone!" Lupin announced as he entered the classroom, and the various conversations died down. He scanned the class and smiled at Faith, who mock-scowled back.

            "Right. Today's topic," He said with a glint in his eye, "Is vampires."

The trio grinned at Faith as she rested her chin on a fist, elbow on the desk, and one eyebrow raised. "Now can anyone tell me anything about vampires? Yes, Pavarti."

            "They are immortal, and can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart, beheading, sunlight or fire."

Faith snorted,

            "So not entirely immortal then." She scoffed. Most of the class burst into laughter, and Lupin shook his head with a grin,

            "It's as if she never left." He said wryly. As the laughter quietened, he said, "So then, Faith, do you have anything else to add on the subject?"

Faith glared at him,

            "Yeah, erm, they're repelled by crosses and other holy stuff, like holy water, bibles, that kinda thing… they don't have to return to coffins or local earth, that's just a myth. Ah, oh, getting them to drink holy water kills them too. To turn someone into a vamp they have to almost drain the person, and then make them drink the vampire's blood, just getting bitten doesn't turn you. That enough?"

            "Yes, very good." Lupin said, while several people looked over at Faith, all that hadn't seen her already beginning to remember the Gryffindor who had disappeared over two years ago, and many of them wondering why she knew so much about vampires. "Anyone else? Anything Faith missed?" There was some murmuring, before someone put their hand up,

            "Yes?" Lupin asked.

            "Vampires greatest enemy is meant to be the Slayer." Several people laughed again, and someone said,

            "Don't be stupid, the Slayer is just a myth."

            "Bull!" Faith said before she could stop herself. Everyone laughed once more, and she looked innocently at Lupin, "Sorry Professor."

            "That's alright, Faith…" Then to the rest of the class, "Why do you believe that the slayer is a myth?" The discussion continued, culminating in Lupin saying that he wouldn't tell them either way, for if the slayer was real, there was reason for her to be secretive, and if she wasn't, well there was surely reason for the vampires not to know that too, wasn't there?

            When they left the room at the end, Hermione and the boys were grinning at Faith, who had found it very difficult to not continuously butt in with entirely untactful comments.

            "That man is evil." She declared.

            "He was just playing with you." Hermione assured her, "And vampires are on the syllabus, so it wasn't completely meant for teasing you."

            "Still evil." Faith murmured, "However, not half as evil as the slimy git I have now."

            "Potions?"

            "With the fourth years." Faith said with a grimace. "How degrading is that? He wouldn't let me join his more advanced classes until I've learnt more."

            "You'll survive." Ron said, "I have for nearly six years, so you'll be fine."

            "I can always remind him of how I saved his ass." Faith grinned.

            "Nu-uh." Harry said, "I wanna be around to see his face when you do that."

Faith chuckled,

            "Noted. I'll see you guys later."

            "Later."

            "Bye."

            "See ya."

Faith headed to the dungeons, and took a deep breath before she entered, keep calm, she told herself, keep calm. She took a seat at the very back, and ignored fourth years whispers as they entered and saw her, wondering why the elder girl was there. She got out all her stuff, and began scribbling on the corner of a piece of parchment while she waited. It was only when Snape had just entered that she realised the random shape she had been tracing over and over looked remarkably like a lightening bolt…

            "Today," Snape drawled in his deep, serious voice, "We will be exploring the effects of…" And Faith was gone. She tuned out as she had developed a great skill for, writing notes on everything he said, taking it in, while barely listening to a word.

            "Miss Winters." Snape said again, sharply.

            "Yeah?" Faith said, snapping to attention.

            "If you are to join my classes, I do require that you pay attention." He said.

            "I… I was." Faith replied, quickly running over what he'd been saying in case he tested her.

            "Really?" He snapped, "Because you were doing an excellent impression of someone starring into space."

Faith felt her teeth gritting in anger, and again told herself, calm.

            "Well I was paying attention, taking notes an' all." She replied, as polite as her voice would allow.

            "I severely hope so." Snape said, before returning to the lesson and turning back to the black board. Faith stuck out her tongue at the back of his head, and a few fourth years tittered. Snape snapped back round to total silence, and Faith looking at him expectantly, quill poised over her parchment. He scowled, but continued.

            When Faith met up with the trio at lunch, she sat down and said immediately,

            "I hate him. I hate him so much."

            "What did he do?"

            "Nothing in particular, just being him." Faith snapped. "And gave me tonnes of homework because I have so much to catch up on. More like cos he can't take that I saved his ass from a major whooping." She grumbled.

            "Don't worry." Hermione soothed, "You'll get used to him again."

            "What do you mean?" Ron said. "She moaned about him after every single lesson the whole time she was here."

            "Oh shut up." Faith snapped.

            That evening they sat around the common room, discussing the days lessons, Faith a little more excited than she liked to admit about being back in Hogwarts. Various old acquaintances came to join in now and then, and in one day Faith felt more at home than she had anywhere else. 

            Eventually she got onto a topic she had loved in her previous time in Hogwarts,

            "So, Quidditch!" She exclaimed, "How's it going?"

            "Oh it's ok." Harry said unenthusiastically.

            "Whoa, ok? What's wrong?"

            "Well, you know after we beat Slytherin in third year?" Faith nodded, "Well, fourth year we didn't have any quidditch cos of the tournament,"

            "Ooh! But the world cup!" She remembered, "Did you see it?"

Now Harry perked up,

            "We went to the final game."

            "No! That's not fair!"

The trio grinned,

            "It was incredible. Bulgaria caught the snitch, but Ireland won."

            "Damn! Wish I coulda seen that… so why is school quidditch getting you down, Haz?"

            "We've lost half our team. With the twins gone, plus Alicia, Angelina…"

            "So what, you got you as seeker,"

            "And captain." Ron murmured,

            "Really? Wicked cool, go Harry!" Faith grinned, socking him on the arm.

            "Ow." He replied.

            "Oops, don't know my own strength half the time." She smiled apologetically, "Ok, so, You… Katie still here?"

            "Yup. Ron's keeper, Ginny's a chaser. We have reasonable people for the rest, but… it's just not the same."

            "And the beaters are nothing on the twins." Hermione agreed. "Why don't you try out?"

            "Me?" Faith asked, snorting a laugh, "Right, I was a reserve for two years, and when they needed reserves, I was generally with you guys and Harry doing whatever meant he couldn't play."

            "So? You were still good. And with… with slayer strength," She whispered, "You'd be a wicked beater… or slayer reflexes for chasing."

            "You should." Harry agreed. "Come to our practise tomorrow."

            "I dunno, Harry. I got a lotta work, and with patrolling…"

            "Please?" Harry said, looking like a lost child. Faith laughed,

            "Don't give me that face!" She covered her eyes.

            "Seriously, please?"

            "Oh screw it, sure. If I knock someone's head off it's not my fault."

            "Noted."

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I know this chapter was pretty fluffly, but anyone who knows my writing will know there isn't even a chance of this being all sunshine and roses. (can you say 'setting 'em up'?) grins

Please review!!


	9. The Slayer Bit

Hi there, long time no see... I have been seriously out of the fanfic game for quite a while I'm afraid, only writing random bits now and then when they hit me. Since I last posted on this story I have finished school, gone off and done 4 years of uni, and now I'm working, and oddly it's now that I've managed to write a bit more! I've got a total of 14 chapters so far for this, and I **cannot and will not **promise that I will ever actually finish it, but I figured I might as well post a bit as I have it! So yeh, enjoy.

Usual disclaimer of course: Neither HP of BTVS are mine, I wish they were.

**Summary up to this point:**

Faith was kicked out of her home when her Father found out that she was a witch and had been invited to attend Hogwarts. She was part of the Gryffindor quartet for 3 years, until after the events of 'The Prisoner of Askaban', her father decided that he wanted her back, and the minister of magic himself encouraged this to happen. She was sent back to America, her wand and all connections to the magical world taken from her.

During years of horrific abuse at the hands of her father, Faith was approached by the watchers council and became a slayer, which she embraced to avoid the reality of her life. By the time she reached Sunnydale, her three years at Hogwarts seemed like a fantasy created to deal with the less pleasant aspects of life. It was only when a stake disappeared into thin air at the exact moment she needed it too, and a vampire spontaneously combusted that she began to suspect it was actually all true.

On assignment for the council, Faith was sent to England to investigate a rising number of vampires in London, and it wasn't long before she determined that it was part of a plot arranged by Voldemort, and she was plunged back into the world she had convinced herself did not exist. Now she is back and Hogwarts, monitoring the gathering of vampires in Hogsmeade, while posing as a student, and getting reacquainted with her old friends....

**Chapter 8- The Slayer Bit**

For the next few weeks, life continued that way, Faith feeling more and more as though she had never left Hogwarts or her friends, and finding it scarily easy to slip back into it all. She tried out for quidditch and the rest of the team agreed to take her on and try her out in a few different positions to see how it went. She surprised even herself by throwing herself into her school work, desperate to catch up on all that she had missed in her time away, and everyone but Snape and (of course) the Slytherins was very vocal about their pleasure that she was back.

When she, Hermione Ron and Harry were sat together, chatting away, Faith loved the feeling of belonging which swelled so easily. Hermione, so different to Faith in every way, seemed almost to fit her like a missing half; Ron, who she had to admit reminded her a lot of Xander these days, just made her laugh at every turn; and Harry… well she tried not to think too hard about Harry, because the truth was that she had started to feel very close to the boy who lived, and not just because they shared dreams on occasion. From that first night back at Hogwarts, Faith knew that things were different between them than when they were just kids all those years ago… and she had no idea how she was supposed to handle it.

The problem was, that although she had certainly made friends in Sunnydale, everything there happened as a result of all the things in Faith's life that she wanted so desperately to forget… whereas here it was all too easy to put those things out of her mind. It was only in training sessions with Liz, meetings with the order, and when she went patrolling that Faith had to admit the rest of her life to herself. The fact was though, that as much as she hated parts of her past, and as much as her job reminded her of those things, slaying had become a huge part of Faith, and she loved it… so she began to settle into a routine, being a cheerful school girl by day, and a fearless vampire hunter by night. Mixing the two, she had not been prepared for.

One night, when Faith ventured out of her private room again to patrol, a voice once again caught her by surprise as she crossed the room.

"Going on patrol?" Harry asked, his tone somewhere between amusement and anxiety. Faith turned with a smirk,

"Yes. It _is_ my job."

"Can I join you?" He asked, continuing across from the boys stairs to meet her.

"No." She replied, "It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous? Faith…"

"I know you can handle yourself Harry but this is different!"

"How?"

"This is vampires." She said with frustration, "It's not wizards with wands, it's demons with strength you can't imagine."

"Curses will still work though, right? And how can a little back up hurt?"

"It can hurt by getting me or you killed!" She snapped, "I don't know how many there are gonna be and I can't concentrate on them if I'm watching out for you!"

"You don't have to watch out for me, Faith. I can handle myself. And you said it yourself- you don't know how many there are gonna be, so you shouldn't be going out there alone."

"It's what I _do_ Harry."

"I'm not letting you go alone." He said firmly, stepping right up to her. Faith swallowed as his scent washed over her, shocked as always by his power to completely strip her of the control she had gained when it came to men.

"Harry…" She said, meaning to shoot him down again but losing the words. "You…" She shook her head, "You're not allowed out after curfew. You'll get in trouble." Harry actually laughed, and raised an eyebrow.

"As if that's ever stopped me before."

She rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Fine. But wear the cloak. And take this." She handed him a stake.

"Deal." He said, taking the stake with a grin of triumph.

Faith marched down the drive towards Hogsmeade. She could not see Harry at her side, but she didn't need to, she could feel him, not to mention the scrunching noise his footsteps made on the gravel path.

"Keep quiet." She whispered as they entered the town. Faith couldn't help but smile at the memory of strolling around here in third year, just like this actually, with Harry under the invisibility cloak.

The small town was deserted, all the inhabitants asleep by now, even those who might usual venture out later safely indoors thanks to the rash of murders seen of late.

"I don't see anyone." Harry commented after ten minutes of searching.

"Ssh!" Faith replied, but it was too late. From a nearby alley, a vampire stepped out, a wide grin on his foul face.

"I spy with my little eye…" He taunted, "A little kiddy out after hours. Whatever shall we do about it?"

"I really don't know Marv." Replied his buddy as he followed him, "But we should probably make sure she never does it again."

Faith stopped herself smiling, and produced the most simpering voice she could,

"Oh please don't tell Professor Dumbledore… I'll go back now, I promise…" She made to turn away.

"I'm afraid that wont be possible." One of them said gleefully. "See, we didn't get any dinner."

"I'm afraid I don't understand…" She continued the act as the vampires approached her, separating to come at her from two sides. There were two more in an alley just behind her too, she knew. This would be fun.

"Too bad." The vampire sneered.

"What is?" She asked. They'd come far enough. "Your face or that excuse for an outfit?" For a moment the vampire looked confused, then angry, and the second after that he was just shocked as the innocent little meal leapt at him, her foot impacting his face. As he hit the ground, she turned to stake the second just as he lunged at her like she knew he would. The backup then jumped out as the first vampire sprang back to his feet. Faith grinned. But something was wrong… where the hell was Harry? Suddenly one of the backup vamps cried out, jerking backwards as some unseen force grabbed him from behind.

"Crap." Faith exclaimed as his buddy hurried to his aid. She delivered a spinning kick to the original vamps chest, following through with an expertly aimed stake, and ran towards the struggle, wishing now that she could see Harry. The vampires were trying to remove the throttling force from around the first's neck, not yet figuring that it was an invisible person. Faith thanked whoever was listening for that, and staked one from behind. "Harry, get off him!" She cried, terrified of hurting him accidentally. The vampire, realising what this meant, grabbed at the apparently empty space behind him, catching the cloak and revealing the boy, though it changed nothing.

"Stake him!" Harry yelled. The vampire was trying desperately to throw him off, jerking and flailing around, making it very difficult for Faith to get a clear shot. She finally thrust, aiming true and dusting the vamp. As the vampire dusted, Harry fell forward, bowling straight into the slayer, who tumbled backwards, landing hard on the cobbled street with the boy who lived on top of her.

"Hi." He said with a smirk. Eyes wide, she thumped his arm,

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

"I was helping." He replied.

"You made a total mess of the whole situation. I had it under control until you interfered!"

"You had three vampires surrounding you." He countered.

"So what?!" She exclaimed. Finally noticing the position they were in, Faith shoved him, "Get off me." But as he rolled off, he kept a hold of her, pulling her down on top of him instead. "What are you doing?" She snapped.

"Ssh." He replied.

"What? Harry…"

"Ssh." He repeated, pressing a finger to her lips, his heart hammering in his chest with fear of what he was about to try to do. This was Faith for god's sake… and he wasn't exactly Casanova… and yet somehow none of that was going to stop him right now. Faith swallowed, their eyes meeting. How was it that he could break through her barriers like that? He tucked her hair back away from her face, and cradled her cheek in his palm, and she found herself relaxing, leaning forward to meet him. The kiss was gentle, tentative, as if neither was sure exactly how they had got into this situation. But as each revelled in the feeling of the others body so close to their own, it became deeper, more passionate… Faith hadn't felt like this since… she wasn't sure she had ever felt like this.

A crash from a nearby alley snapped the pair back to reality. Faith forced herself to pull away, and jump up,

"We have to get out of here." She said. Harry nodded, grabbing the cloak and taking her hand as they hurried back towards the school. Faith was in a daze. What the hell had just happened? You let the game down, some part of her mind told her, you let your emotions get in the way.

The run back to the school and the journey through the castle past in a blur, and before Faith knew it they were standing back in the common room.

"You ok?" Harry asked in a whisper, his hand still clasping her's. She nodded, her mouth dry.

"I'm fine." She forced herself to say. "I told you, you shouldn't have come."

"I know, but…" He smiled, "If I hadn't…" He pulled her towards him, kissing her again. Though it ached so much to do so, though it hurt her to the core, she let the slayer side of her take control, and made herself stop, and pull back. She wrenched her hand away from his.

"I told you, you shouldn't have come." She repeated firmly, and hurried up the girls stairs two at a time.

The next day it was clear to Ron and Hermione that something was wrong with the other two. Both looked pale and tired, and neither would look at the other. Yet although they each attempted to get an explanation, the two insisted they were fine, just tired, didn't sleep well.

It wasn't until that evening that Harry managed to catch Faith alone again, as she was slipping out.

"Faith." He called out, just as she reached the portrait hole. She let out a frustrated breath.

"What?" She snapped in reply.

"What's going on?" He asked. She turned quickly on the spot.

"I'm going out on patrol. It's my job. No you're not coming."

"That's not what I mean."

"What then?"

"I mean what happened with…us…"

"We kissed, Harry." Faith said sharply, "It was an intense situation, you got excited, it happens. It's no big deal."

"I got _excited?_ Faith…"

"I'm sorry if I'm not gonna fall head over heels, Harry…" She said, able to see the pain she was causing him even at this distance, and it cut her deep to see it… but she knew she must. "I have to go patrol." She trailed off with a sigh.

"What's wrong, Faith?" He wouldn't let it drop. "This isn't you, I know there's something…"

"What cos I'm not jumping on you there's something wrong with me? I'm not a member of your adoring fan club, Harry…"

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it." He snapped angrily, "I know there is something wrong because I know you. Sod the 'us' situation, if I misread it then fine, I'll deal, but you are my friend, and you're in pain. Please… tell me what's wrong."

Faiths heart felt as though it was going to burst from her chest. How could he still be so good to her when she had just done her best to hurt him? Fear crept in now… how could she make him back off without losing him completely? Maybe she couldn't deal with the complication of admitting her feelings for him, but she certainly couldn't handle losing him as a friend.

"I'm fine, Harry." She said quietly. "I… I have to go. I'll speak to you later."

"Faith…" But she had pushed open the portrait door and was gone.

"Shit!" Harry yelled, kicking a waste paper bin across the room.

Faith wandered Hogsmeade in a daze, unsure of how to deal with this new situation. She knew now that she had loved Harry for years… she had loved him back when they were 'just friends', but back then she thought she had all the time in the world to work out what this new feeling meant. Every time Faith did come across a vampire they wished they had stayed in that night. She took them out hard, fast and mercilessly. She was not in the mood to be interrupted. When a tinge of dawn crept into the sleeping town, Faith allowed herself to return to the castle. Her mind was no clearer than it had been when she left, and she still had no idea what to do about Harry. She felt more tired than she had in months, and she was at a complete loss. She trundled back to her room, crossed to her bed, pulled off her top, and only then realised that something was wrong. She spun round, the turning kick freezing only an inch from the intruders face. Hermione, half sat up from where she had fallen asleep on Faith's couch, yelped, her eyes almost crossed to focus on the foot that had almost hit her.

"Hermione!" Faith exclaimed, dropping her foot and grabbing her shirt to pull it back on again. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you to come back." She replied, yawning. "I fell asleep… what time is it?"

"Nearly five." Faith confessed, "Why were you waiting up for me?!"

"To chat." Hermione said with a shrug, "Something was up with you all day, and Harry has been in a foul mood…"

"It's nothing, Herm."

"I'm not stupid, Faith!" Hermione snapped. "You guys are two of my best friends. One night you're fine and the next morning you wont speak to each other… what happened!?"

Faith closed her eyes and sighed deeply,

"Herm…"

"No, no more evasion, Faith! Please… tell me."

Faith heaved another sigh and sat down beside her friend,

"I… Ok… Harry came on patrol with me. I told him not to but he wouldn't listen… you know what he's like when he gets something in his head like that..."

Hermione nodded,

"Ok… so what happened… did he mess it up or something?"

Faith shook her head,

"No, that's not it… although he did get it the way, but…" She suddenly stood up again, "You guys just don't get it… you act as though I've just come back out of the blue like everyone else believes, and I get that, I really do… half the time I would love to believe that… but the truth is I am here on a mission, I have work I have to do, and it's dangerous work and it's my _life! _I have no guarantee how long I'm gonna be here… they could call me out tomorrow if they wanted to… and yes obviously I would put up a fight but in the end I have to go where I am needed, that's how it works… the other half of my life is… like… it's… it's the cover story. I can't make connections and bonds and things like normal people because…" She trailed off and registered Hermione's hurt expression. She sat down heavily once more, "Because people I connect to tend to get hurt or… dead. You have to understand, Hermione, that while I am your friend, for ever, and I love all of you… I have to be the slayer first… and emotions… they complicate that. It's easier for me not to have that complication."

They were silent for a moment, Faith running over what she had said in her head and trying to work out how much of it actually made any sense at all. It was Hermione who eventually spoke.

"Ok, I get that." She said slowly, "Apart from the fact that it's the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard." Faith gaped at Hermione… that had been the last thing she had expected. "Yes, you are the slayer." Hermione continued, "And yes, that means you have commitments other people do not have and you have burdens other people do not have, but guess what? I actually happen to know something about that, or had you forgotten that Harry isn't entirely 'normal' either? So I know this: even if shutting off your emotions so that you can deal with the shit you have to deal with each day makes some things easier in the short term, in the long run that drives you stark raving mad. Connections with people, real connections, not just _physical_ ones… that is what keeps you grounded, keeps you human… keeps you going. If you turn your back on that, then eventually you will lose everything, including yourself." She took a deep breath, and straightened her skirt. "Besides which, you never actually answered my question."

"Herm…"

But Hermione was standing up and heading for the door.

"It's your choice Faith… if you let the slayer be all that you are then you may well be the best slayer the world has ever seen, but you will also become less human every day, and eventually the friend I love will not exist anymore. You have to decide whether hiding from your feelings and your fears is worth that." She paused a moment longer in the doorway, just looking a Faith, who seemed more vulnerable now that Hermione had ever seen her. "Good night." She said quietly, and left.

Faith pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She had never thought of it that way before. She had been so desperate to keep herself strong, and to stop emotions from making her weak like she once was, that she had never considered what would happen if she truly succeeded. What happened to a person when they finally lost every human tie that made them, _them_? How could a slayer protect humanity if she lost touch with it? If one were to lose all that… then surely you would lose the concept of boundaries too, of right and wrong, good and evil, sanity and madness…

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Ta da! Please if anyone has stuck with me long enough to actually be reading this, drop me a review!!


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